Highlighting Mohawk Valley Businesses: Utica Creative Reuse

There are many wonderful locally owned businesses throughout the Mohawk Valley that contribute to the communities and economy of the region. One nonprofit that we’ve connected with is Utica Creative Reuse.

Taking an innovative approach to bring the community together, Utica Creative Reuse offers workshops, events and opportunities to donate your unwanted materials so they can be transformed into art and art supplies! They take a “create, experience, teach, learn about, and discuss art” approach to items people may discard and recycle them with eye-opening results.

A creative approach to environmental stewardship

Utica Creative Reuse describes itself as a “nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting creativity, community and environmental stewardship through the creative reuse of reclaimed art materials and low-barrier access to arts education and programming.”

Our hope is that Utica Creative Reuse will function as much more than just a way to salvage materials. We see the creation of this space as a way to advance equity and diversity in the arts community in Central New York. By bringing together members of our community not only to donate unwanted materials or shop, but also to create, experience, teach, learn about, and discuss art, we aim to foster cultural and personal connection among artists of all ages and abilities.

Creative Reuse pop-up events throughout Utica

From pop-up donation sites to workshops that educate on how to create and repurpose things we might throw away, Creative Reuse brings people together to shop and live sustainably. Their innovative approach to reducing and repurposing waste for art supplies is exactly what’s needed. Sarah Marris-Swann painter and founder shared, “Everyone should have access to exploring their artistic expression.”

Take a look at events coming in March

The New York Farm Viability Institute has been named as the regional funding program administrator as part of Round II of the NYS G&C program